Respawn Boss Vince Zampella Speaks Out On Trans Rights, Even As EA Refuses

The game industry veteran’s statement came after a meeting earlier in the day on LGTBQ+ issues helmed by EA chief DEI officer, Asha George, and chief operating officer for EA studios, Kate Kellogg, according to two sources familiar with the event. There, they once again faced questions from employees about why EA wouldn’t take a public stand on topics like transgender rights and the right to abortion.

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Sources said some staff were once again dismayed with the lack of clear answers from management, whose response again appeared to lean on the idea of abortion and trans rights lacking company-wide support. Kellogg and George effectively echoed chief people officer Mala Singh’s remarks from an internal company town hall a week ago.

“These are incredibly complex personal issues and part of being an inclusive company means being inclusive of all those points of view,” she said at the time, without specifying what the other “points of view” on issues like transgender rights might be. Sources said Kellogg and George followed her lead in trying to focus the conversation instead on what EA can do to support the individual healthcare needs of its employees amid the ongoing right-wing culture wars and attacks on human rights.

The Battlefield publisher had previously sponsored a Dallas Morning News ad alongside dozens of other companies condemning a grossly transphobic government order in Texas. “We’re proud to join the Human Rights Campaign, along with others in the business community, to stand against discriminatory laws and policies being introduced in Texas, Florida, and other states across the country,” it said in a statement to press at the time.

However, neither that sentiment nor Zampella’s has ever been shared on EA’s website or social media channels. That’s in stark contrast to studios like Bungie and Certain Affinity, which haven’t backed down from taking a stand on polarizing issues other game companies have apparently deemed too controversial to weigh in on. It’s not yet clear how EA in particular will reconcile its current silence with its 2022 Pride Month activities.

“Pride is not about ignoring this harsh reality in order to celebrate, Pride is and always has been a celebration in the face of hate,” the publisher wrote in a blog post at the start of Pride Month last year. “We know we can do more for our LGBTQIA+ employees and players.”

Update 05/31/2022 7:41 p.m. ET: An EA spokesperson commented, “EA’s support for the LGBTQIA+ and trans communities is long-standing and enduring, and has been shared widely and publicly,” and supplied a link to the above mentioned Pride 2021 EA blog post.